1.2 Contact details of resource persons and institutions involved in the assessment and documentation of the Approach

Name of project which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

Decision Support for Mainstreaming and Scaling out Sustainable Land Management (GEF-FAO / DS-SLM)

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

Department of Agriculture-Region VIII (DA-8) - Philippines

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

When were the data compiled (in the field)?

25/01/2016

The compiler and key resource person(s) accept the conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT:

Yes

1.4 Reference(s) to Questionnaire(s) on SLM Technologies

2.1 Short description of the Approach

A process of rehabilitating degraded forest lands by taking advantage of trees already growing in the area.

2.2 Detailed description of the Approach

Detailed description of the Approach:

The objectives of the Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) approach includes reduction of cost, speeding-up of forest restoration and enhancing plant diversity. It accelerates the succession process by removing or reducing barriers to natural regeneration such as competition with weedy species, soil degradation and recurring disturbances.

ANR is a method for enhancing the establishment of secondary forest from degraded grassland and shrub vegetation by protecting and nurturing mother trees and their wildlings inherently present in the area.

Stages of implementation: (a)Site identification wherein ideal sites for ANR implementation are those with 600-700 vigorous wildlings per hectare with 15-200 cm height of pioneer species, brush and other woody species relatively well spread on the area; (b) Survey, Mapping and Planning (SMP); (c)Locating and marking of wildlings which include tagging, measuring and identification for monitoring of growth and survival rates; (d) Liberation and tending of regenerants through ring weeding and placing of the cut grasses into the base of the wildlings to serve as mulch and protect them from direct exposure to sunlight and to serve as fertilizer overtime; (e) Suppressing the grass; and (f) Maintenance and protection of established ANR site.

The project of ANR in Barangay San Miguel, Danao, Bohol was initiated 2006 until 2009. Stakeholders involved are the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) including field counterparts in Region 7, Non-Government Organization, Local Government Unit (LGU) and the People's Organization (PO) in Danao, Bohol.

One of the important foci of the project is botanical inventory and vegetation study of site which deals only on the study of trees and other plant species in the site rather than biodiversity study of site which encompasses the study of both plant and animals in the site.

2.3 Photos of the Approach

2.5 Country/ region/ locations where the Approach has been applied

2.6 Dates of initiation and termination of the Approach

2.7 Type of Approach

• project/ programme based

2.8 Main aims/ objectives of the Approach

The main objective of the approach is to effectively convert deforested lands or degraded vegetation to a more productive forest.

2.9 Conditions enabling or hindering implementation of the Technology/ Technologies applied under the Approach

3.1 Stakeholders involved in the Approach and their roles

3.2 Involvement of local land users/ local communities in the different phases of the Approach

	Involvement of local land users/ local communities	Specify who was involved and describe activities
initiation/ motivation	passive	DENR
planning	passive	DENR
implementation	interactive	DENR, Bagong Pag-asa Foundation, People's Organization
monitoring/ evaluation	passive	DENR and the POs were involved in the establishment of firelines or firebreaks/ greenbreaks, conduct of patrol works, conduct ring weeding and augmentation planting.
research	passive

3.3 Flow chart (if available)

3.4 Decision-making on the selection of SLM Technology/ Technologies

Specify who decided on the selection of the Technology/ Technologies to be implemented:

• mainly SLM specialists, following consultation with land users

4.1 Capacity building/ training

Was training provided to land users/ other stakeholders?

Yes

Specify who was trained:

• land users
• field staff/ advisers

If relevant, specify gender, age, status, ethnicity, etc.

Transfer of the technologies of ANR to forest officers, LGUs, NGOs, POs, community members, academe, research institutions, and civil society.

Form of training:

• on-the-job
• farmer-to-farmer
• demonstration areas

Subjects covered:

Management of site through the ANR technology

4.2 Advisory service

Do land users have access to an advisory service?

Yes

Specify whether advisory service is provided:

• on land users' fields

Describe/ comments:

DENR personnel were capacitated through trainings to ensure the continuation of the project.

4.3 Institution strengthening (organizational development)

Have institutions been established or strengthened through the Approach?

• yes, moderately

Specify the level(s) at which institutions have been strengthened or established:

• local

4.4 Monitoring and evaluation

Is monitoring and evaluation part of the Approach?

Yes

If yes, is this documentation intended to be used for monitoring and evaluation?

No

4.5 Research

Was research part of the Approach?

Yes

Specify topics:

• ecology

Give further details and indicate who did the research:

Biodiversity study through documentation of the vegetation status and notable changes in the biodiversity of the site with the application of the ANR techniques.

5.1 Annual budget for the SLM component of the Approach

If precise annual budget is not known, indicate range:

• 10,000-100,000

Comments (e.g. main sources of funding/ major donors):

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN) 30%, DENR-FMB (in kind contributions) 70%

5.2 Financial/ material support provided to land users

Did land users receive financial/ material support for implementing the Technology/ Technologies?

Yes

If yes, specify type(s) of support, conditions, and provider(s):

Activities undertaken under this approach was financed through the FAO-UN contribution.

5.3 Subsidies for specific inputs (including labour)

• equipment

If labour by land users was a substantial input, was it:

• paid in cash

5.4 Credit

Was credit provided under the Approach for SLM activities?

No

5.5 Other incentives or instruments

Were other incentives or instruments used to promote implementation of SLM Technologies?

No

6.1 Impacts of the Approach

6.2 Main motivation of land users to implement SLM

6.3 Sustainability of Approach activities

Can the land users sustain what has been implemented through the Approach (without external support)?

• yes

If yes, describe how:

The technology was transferred to various stakeholders that enabled them to continue the program.

6.4 Strengths/ advantages of the Approach

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the land user’s view
Strong support from various stakeholders including the LGU, DENR, international agencies and others.
Philippines was awarded and cited for forest restoration and UN forestry award.

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
DENR issued a national policy wherein ANR is one of the major activities in forest restoration of tenurial instrument holder. ANR is also included as one of the major restoration technologies in several projects.
The techniques of ANR are simple which include the integration of economic and social values and forest reforestation.

6.5 Weaknesses/ disadvantages of the Approach and ways of overcoming them

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view	How can they be overcome?
The approach is underutilized due to lack of awareness and research results demonstrating its effectiveness	Research that could be used in determining potentials of a site for ANR techniques using soil and vegetation factors.

7.1 Methods/ sources of information